Viewing inDuality: IBM-backed startup debuts fully-functional Web-based Second Life viewer

A large man with a walrus mustache pulled me aside at last weekend's Virtual Worlds Forum in London to show me the latest milestone in the Lindens' open source viewer initiative. With support from IBM's UK division, the small startup Pelican Studios has created inDuality, a universal metaverse plug-in that lets you run interactive, high-resolution 3D graphics on a browser.  Including, as the above screenshot shows, Second Life itself.   The web-based SL interfaces created by Katharine Berry and the Japanese company behind Movable Life only provide limited access to specific Second Life features, like chat and teleporting.  This offers much more than that.

According to Pelican CEO Clive Jackson, inDuality transmits about 95% of the SL experience from the world to the web.  I got a head-over shoulder demonstration of him logging into Second Life, and I have to say, the plug-in moves smoothly and convincingly.  Whether it becomes as revolutionary as the Sheep's OnRez viewer, however, is too early to say.  I know I'll be watching it closely regardless. 

There's a form to sign up for the inDuality Beta test at this link.

Image credit: Pelican Crossing.com.

Comments

[csven]

That looks more impressive than I'd expected. Guess I'll have to sign up for the Beta.

[ak Yip]

Hi.

Adding to them, a Japanese IT company, SUN will start to provide second life viewer for mobile phone.

SUN's website:
http://www.secondlifejapan.co.jp/mobile.html

[Tony Moxie]

Interesting, any idea if this is windows only? Is it Java?

[SuezanneC Baskerville]

They were said to have a page with a signup form at the link shown above, but that form never worked. They have apparently gotten around to trying to correct that page, but that page says "If you are interested in Beta testing inDuality please send and email to" - it says "send and email" instead of "send an email".

When you are programming you need a clear idea of what you are going to do, and you need to be able to make the code do what you want it to; you need to be careful not to make small mistakes, and when mistakes are found, you need to correct them carefully, not making new mistakes in the correction process.

I hope these guys do a better job of programming than they have done so far in the simple task of inviting people onto a waiting list.